


There's always something.

by BarPurple



Series: Sherlolly Against the World [16]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Deductions, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Molly Matters, Sherlock Makes Deductions, Sherlock is Wrong, Sherlock is a Good Boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock meets an old friend of Molly's and his deductive powers fail him a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's always something.

“Molly! You safe to hug? Come here lass.”

Sherlock looked up at the newcomer. Molly had told him one of her old friends was visiting London and would be dropping by St Barts at lunch time. She’d also given him strict instructions to keep his deductions to himself. She hadn’t said he couldn’t make them, because Molly understood that was asking the impossible of her boyfriend, she simply didn’t want him to blurt them out in front of her friend. She’d told him nothing else about her visitor. That was another wonderful thing about Molly; she never denied him a puzzle however trivial it might be.

“You gonna make the introductions then?”

Sherlock rose from his microscope and stood beside Molly, she gave him a smile.

“Sherlock Jessica. Jessica Sherlock.”

Jessica did not move to shake his hand so Sherlock gave her a slight bow. Unusually for a woman she returned his gesture in kind; interesting.

“Molly asked you not to deduce me?”

Sherlock nodded. Silence served him best when he was trying not to let deductions spill from his mouth. Jessica rolled her eyes fondly at Molly.

“Honey, its fine. Let the man speak his mind before he explodes.”

Sherlock’s head tilted as he glanced down at Molly. In her gentle brown eyes there was a hint of reluctance. He touched her wrist as he softly said;

“I’ll be gentle.”

Molly nodded and Sherlock turned to Jessica. He’d made all of his deductions in the first few seconds after she’d walked into the lab, but he made a show of looking her over from head to toe. Jessica stood impassive under his scrutiny, which was a bit odd, most people tensed or squirmed. He dismissed her reaction and began.

“You were born in the East Midlands, but lived for a large part of your childhood in North Yorkshire. You travel abroad frequently. Your outfit is well cared for, but made up of mostly second hand pieces, not because you can’t afford new; I’d say it’s an ethical choice and because you found your style in your late teens and have never felt the need to change with current fashion. You shaved your head recently to raise money for a cancer charity and you’re thinking about keeping it this short. You’re ambidextrous, but write more confidently with your left. You broke your engagement two months ago and since you spent last night with a man I’d say you have no regrets.”

Sherlock finally paused for a breath and waited for Jessica’s reaction. Her face had remained still and impassive while he’d been speaking, but now she grinned happily.

“Wow that is impressive.”

Sherlock’s preening was cut short as he registered his girlfriend’s reaction. Judging by the smile playing around Molly’s mouth he’d gotten something wrong and he had to know what.

“I’ll explain the observations that led me to those deductions if you’ll tell me if I’m right.”

Jessica extended her hands in a welcoming gesture.

“Please. I’d love to hear the process behind your thinking.”

Molly pulled her friend to a seat.

“He’s going to want to pace for this bit, we may as well sit down.”

As the two women settled into their seats Sherlock marvelled once again at how well Molly understood him and how easily she accommodated his needs. Sherlock started walking back and forth in front of them as he began listing his observations.

“Your accent reveals your birthplace and where you lived as a child. You speak with Midland’s inflection, but there is a Yorkshire twang on your constants.”

He paused for confirmation.

“Almost right. I was born in North Yorkshire. Mum and Dad are both from Leicester. I picked up my accent from them.”

Sherlock’s eyebrows quirked in mild surprise, this was an interesting variation on speech development that he had to investigate further. For now he continued.

“Your passport is in your inside jacket pocket. People who don’t travel frequently don’t habitually carry such an important document all the time.”

“I go abroad occasionally. I don’t drive, so I carry my passport as ID.”

Sherlock was taken aback by that.

“Really? Ok.”

Jessica gave a shrug and said;

“You’re bang on about my clothes. How did you know they were second hand?”

“There are older wear patterns on the cuffs and elbows of your jacket. They’ve faded, but they don’t match your body type or movements, so it’s not because of recent weight change, hence second hand.”

Jessica examined the cuffs of her leather jacket. She chuckled as she saw what Sherlock had observed.

“Look at that!” 

She held her arm out for Molly to examine as Sherlock continued.

“You shopping habits are an ethical choice because you support many charities. The lapel pin for the RLNI and the Help for Heroes wrist band are a giveaway. Your giving nature also offered an explanation for your dramatic haircut. It’s recent because of the lack of tan at your hairline. There have been posters everywhere for the Brave to Shave campaign in the past few weeks.”

“Spot on. How do you know I’m considering keeping my hair this short?”

“You smile every time you run your hand over it.”

Jessica paused midway through the exact motion Sherlock had just described and laughed.

“Yeah, can’t deny that one then. Did you get the ambidexterity for the nicotine stains?”

“Yup and the calluses on your middle fingers are where a pen rests. The one on the right shows that you grip the pen harder with that hand, so are less confident in your ability to form clear letters.”

Jessica looked at Molly who nodded and said;

“You do hold a pen like it’s going to jump out of your hand when you use your right.”

“Huh, never noticed that. Okay so, the interesting bit, the engagement?”

Sherlock suddenly had the feeling that this is where his deductive skills had failed him. Molly and Jessica both wore slightly smug expressions. Oh well time to find out just how wrong he’d been. He took a steadying breath and confidently stepped into the uncertain.

“You’ve been rubbing the inside of your left ring finger with your thumb; you stop as soon as you catch yourself doing it. That suggests that there was a ring there and you’re trying to break the habit of fiddling with it now it’s gone. Between two and three months is typically when people feel ready to move on after the end of a relationship they don’t regret has ended. There are traces of black eyeliner in the corners of your eyes but you’re not wearing any fresh make up, that and your shower gel suggests that you spent last night with a man at his place. A one night stand that you weren’t expecting since you didn’t have any make up or shower gel with you for this morning.”

Sherlock had been ready for the possibility that he was wrong, but he hadn’t expected the two women to burst out laughing at him.

“What!?”

Molly managed to get her laughter under control first and elbowed her friend to do the same as she said;

“I’m sorry Sherlock. I’ve never heard you so far off on a deduction.”

He huffed in frustration, but couldn’t be annoyed at Molly. His tone may have been a little sharp as he ordered Jessica;

“Explain it to me then. In detail if you please.”

Jessica swallowed her giggles, but the smile on her lips didn’t fade.

“I haven’t been engaged recently. I’ve been rubbing my ring finger because of a paper cut.”

She held her hand out palm up for Sherlock’s inspection. He noted the fine slice mark in the crease at the base of her finger.

“You stop yourself rubbing at it because it stings.”

“Yeah. You know how annoying paper cuts can be.”

“Was I right about the one night stand?”

“No. I went on a zombie walk last night. Thought I’d got all of the makeup clean off, but obviously not. I don’t wear make-up at all except for fancy dress, so no fresh make-up needed for this morning.”

Sherlock was very surprised, he couldn’t think of any woman outside of his Homeless Network who didn’t wear at least some make-up on a daily basis. Research suggested that the number of women who eschewed powder and paint was vanishingly small. He’d just met a statistical outlier. How interesting. There was still one final puzzle to answer.

“Your shower gel and deodorant are both for men.”

Jessica nodded.

“They are. I prefer the smell. Not a big fan of flowery perfumes on myself.”

A look of wondrous realisation spread across Sherlock’s face. Once again his Molly had surprised him. Had he believed in a higher power he would have offered thanks for the woman who mattered most to him and continually defied his expectations. 

Molly’s pager beeped and she excused herself to answer it. Jessica tilted her head towards him once they were alone.

“You know everyone has at least one friend who they introduce with a caveat.”

Sherlock shrugged, he had heard this from John in the past. Apparently it was common to have at least one friend who you would introduce to new people by saying, ‘They’re great, just a bit odd’.

“I have usurped that position from you in Molly’s circle.”

“Nope. With Molly she’s always been the sort to warn her friends if someone is normal; that’s how she introduced Tom to me. He’s lovely, just a bit ordinary.”

Sherlock thought that was a glowing review of ‘Meat Dagger’ and he realised that his assessment had shown on his face when Jessica snorted.

“Yeah. Look, Molly is herself and because of that odd people gravitate towards her. I like you Sherlock. You reigned yourself in purely because Molly asked you too. That level of affection and devotion is exactly what she deserves from the man in her life.”

Sherlock’s lips quirked into a sneer, not because of what Jessica had said, he agreed with all of that; the sneer manifested because of what he deduced she was going to say next. He was wrong; apparently it was the afternoon for that.

“I know you’ll treat her right, because you know better than the rest of us just how damn lucky you are to have her in your life. Don’t need to threaten to hurt you if you hurt her; the torture you’ll put yourself through if you do is more than I could ever do to you.”

Sherlock stared at her. The only reason his mouth wasn’t hanging open was because his transport was fully under his control. Molly reappeared in the room having dealt with the pager call. It took two short strides for him to meet her and wrap her in a hug.

“I’m treating the three of us to the theatre tonight. Mycroft can get me tickets to Hamlet at the Barbican. Back stage passes as well.”

Jessica’s mouth was hanging open at this point. Molly threw her friend an obvious wink and stood on her tip toes to give Sherlock a kiss on the cheek.

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you Sherlock.”


End file.
